


all we do is sit in silence waiting for a sign

by atlantisairlock



Series: quiet nights poured over ice & tanqueray: shoot x halsey [13]
Category: Person of Interest (TV)
Genre: Canon Compliant, Character Death Fix, F/F, Magical Realism, Surreal
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-23
Updated: 2017-08-23
Packaged: 2018-12-18 21:55:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,067
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11883609
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/atlantisairlock/pseuds/atlantisairlock
Summary: Bear is the first to know when Root dies.





	all we do is sit in silence waiting for a sign

**Author's Note:**

> Bear Has Magical Powers AU but also Bear Is God AU. it's a surrealist kind of AU. not meant to make sense. i was going through my shoot tag on my blog and crying and the idea just came to me. you'll enjoy it more if you don't try to understand it per se i think.

You're the first to know when they die - both of them. It comes to you. You hear it. You feel it. You don't know how - you just know. You've been hearing their voices your whole life, and then they disappear, fading out, so quiet, and then nothing. 

You paw restlessly at the dirt and wait for them to come back.

 

 

John doesn't come back. If you strain hard enough, you can still hear his laughter and you think he's found somewhere, away from this plane of existence, somewhere he can be at peace. 

Harold doesn't come back either, in a different way. He runs. He's far away now, with someone he loves, someone who loves him, leaving another part of his life behind.

Lionel wants out. Lionel wants peace and normality and safety now so he brings you to a diner and doesn't flinch (much) when he hands your lead over to Shaw. Shaw scratches you gently behind the ears and you nuzzle against her and she smells like sad hurt pain. She smiles at you, so you're not sure if she knows she's sad. You lean into her leg and lick her hand and try to tell her that everything is going to be all right.

 

 

Shaw gets sent on hot pursuit of another number after the Machine speaks to her. You bark at the sound of the voice,  _Root's_ voice but it's all wrong. 

"You can't let the Machine use her voice," you try to tell Shaw. "She's coming back. She'll come back."

Shaw just thinks you're hungry, and gets out another tin of food, tells you to wait and be good and that she'll be back soon.

When she's gone the Machine speaks to you, but it's quiet in your head, not the fake-Root voice.  _She doesn't understand what you're saying. But I do._

You glare at the blinking lights and bright screens, barking accusatorially at them.  _Then you know she's coming back._

There's a brief silence, then:  _I do not expect you to understand death, Bear._

 _I understand perfectly,_ you reply, then busy yourself with your food and ignore all attempts at conversation.

 

 

Shaw comes back a little bloodstained but no worse for the wear. You give her a good sniff-down and establish that she has a few cuts and scratches but she's fine, there's adrenaline running through her veins and that means she smells happier, more content, maybe more distracted. She cleans herself up then sits with you, and she smiles more when she plays with you, so you roll over and let her. 

From the corner of your eye you see a pair of fuzzy slippers carefully stored under a cabinet, and you think,  _Root._ You run over, take one in your mouth, bring it back and drop it in Shaw's lap. She stares down at it and you can see her jaw clench.

"She's dead, Bear," Shaw says softly. "She's gone."

You scratch at the floor in frustration, because you  _know._ You know - why don't they realise you  _know?_ But there's so much more to it than that, don't they understand? 

 

 

You know Shaw knows Root loves her but you're not sure she knows exactly how much. She wasn't there to watch Root search for her in all the months she was missing, you were. You're just a dog - well, not really - but you know what that means, you know what the strength of that love can achieve. What kind of barriers it can break. 

You howl it to the moon once:  _she's waiting._

And there's just the briefest flicker.

 

 

You wake up one morning three months later and the world shifts.

She's back. 

 _Root,_ you think. "Root!" You bark it, you paw at the stairs up to the entrance of the subway and Shaw's there, asking you what's going on, what's wrong. You take her sleeve between your teeth and tug her towards you, trying to get her to understand. 

The Machine says,  _she's back._

 _I told you,_ you reply. 

_How is this possible?_

You ignore the skepticism.  _You're an artificial superintelligence, you tell me._

Root's voice comes over the speakers, echoing around the subway. "Shaw. You should take Bear up to the street."

 

 

The moment you see sunlight again you can hear her, smell the scent of hope and longing and you strain against your lead, following where your instinct takes you.

 _You came back, I knew you would,_ you say, and like John you can hear her laugh, now, but it's real and clear and when the crowd parts, she's there. 

Shaw stops dead, and this time you let her. 

 

 

"Root?"

 

 

She says one thing to Shaw. "Hi, sweetie. Did you miss me?"

And says another to you. "Thank you for believing in me."

Shaw stares at her like she's lost her mind. "What are you talking about?" 

Root grins and pats you on the head. "It's our secret."

"No more secrets, Root," Shaw growls, gesturing furiously at Root, and she sounds mad but the sad hurt pain surrounding her is falling away, replaced by disbelief, confusion, a little bit of (a lot of) love. "How the hell are you - here? Why has it taken you  _three months_ to come back? I thought you were  _dead!"_

"It's a long story, Sameen," she replies, giving you a quick wink. "Let's talk about it over a nice meal, all right?"

"I can't believe you. Three months, Root, three whole months - stop walking away from me, I'm not done," she begins to snap, but she still follows as Root turns away towards Shaw's favourite steak place, and you trot along dutifully beside them. 

Your job here is done. 

 

 

Shaw and Root go back to the subway to have a Long Talk after eating and leave you alone with the Machine.

 _You are beyond me,_ the Machine says.  _I am meant to understand the world, Bear. I don't understand where you fit into the matrix._

You laugh.  _I'm just a dog._

She laughs back.  _All right. I will pretend to believe that._

_Just like that?_

_We all have our secrets. Root. Sameen. Even me. But she is back. My analog interface._  She pauses, hesitates. _My daughter. And that is all that matters._

You nod, and return to chewing contentedly on a bone.  _And now we go back to saving the world._

 _Yes,_ she answers.  _We go back to saving the world._


End file.
